Perfect scores on the board
2
perfect 180s
2 perfect 180s in the data — every judge at the table handing back a nine, all in pork ribs.
- Pork Ribs ×2
SMOKE RING AND BARK
SMOKE RING AND BARK is a competition barbecue team with 11 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2023 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 3rd of 56 at the Atlanta BBQ Store Classic (2025). They are ranked #1148 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1590
peak 1590 · rated over 10 contests
Contests
11
in the data
First seen
Oct 5, 2023
latest Jul 9, 2026 · 2.8 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
5
7 podiums
Overall top-10s
6
55% of 11 contests
Best top-10 run
5
straight overall top-10s
Avg finish
top 27%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
2 🔥
Walk rate
91%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±8.10
spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 174.68 · weakest Pork (170.16)
Road miles
1,006
across 11 mapped stops · furthest 254 mi
Schedule strength
71%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1589)
Purse competed for
$180K
listed at 11 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 9 state-championship entries
Master avg
690.65 / 720
5 Master contests · 0 GCs
Backyard avg
345.33 / 360
5 Backyard contests · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard out of 360), so they're kept separate — averaging them together would be misleading.
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to SMOKE RING AND BARK, each with one reason worth a look.
37 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#1,149 of the rated field
- Contests
- 22
- GCs
- 3
- Top-10s
- 32%
- Peak
- 1590
2–0 in 2 shared contests (100% to SMOKE RING AND BARK)
2 contests in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team SMOKE RING AND BARK has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.
⚔ Head-to-head#1,153 of the rated field
- Contests
- 37
- GCs
- 1
- Top-10s
- 43%
- Peak
- 1590
1–1 in 2 shared contests (50% to SMOKE RING AND BARK)
This is the highest they've ever been rated, 36 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.
⚔ Head-to-head#1,147 of the rated field
- Contests
- 40
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 28%
- Peak
- 1590
0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to SMOKE RING AND BARK)
40 contests to 11: their number has had years to settle where SMOKE RING AND BARK's is still finding its level.
⚔ Head-to-head#1,155 of the rated field
- Contests
- 10
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 80%
- Peak
- 1598
Their last contest in the data was back in 2016, 10 years before SMOKE RING AND BARK's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#1,151 of the rated field
- Contests
- 11
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 73%
- Peak
- 1594
Level with SMOKE RING AND BARK on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#1,144 of the rated field
- Contests
- 14
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 71%
- Peak
- 1591
14 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 71% top-10 finishes rather than wins.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAD ROOSTER BBQ | 9 | 6 | 3 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| Blue Smoke Q | 9 | 5 | 3 | 56% | ⚔ compare |
| ZIPS BBQ | 8 | 5 | 2 | 63% | ⚔ compare |
| HOLD YOUR HORSES BBQ | 8 | 4 | 4 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| Glamping Grillers | 8 | 3 | 5 | 38% | ⚔ compare |
| Kick Em In The Butt BBQ | 7 | 7 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| COOL HAND QUE | 7 | 5 | 2 | 71% | ⚔ compare |
| Quenut BBQ | 7 | 4 | 3 | 57% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN' SWEETMEATS | 7 | 3 | 4 | 43% | ⚔ compare |
| Dogpatch Q | 6 | 5 | 1 | 83% | ⚔ compare |
| MAYA JANE BBQ CO. | 6 | 4 | 2 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| Electro-Que-ted | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| FRED VEGAS SMOKERS | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| Rollin Smoke BBQ | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| SWIG-N-PIG | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 178.8572 | 165.0856 | 174.68 | top 25% |
| Pork Ribs | 10 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 180 🔥 | 160.5028 | 172.67 | top 34% |
| Pork | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 173.1200 | 163.9772 | 170.16 | top 46% |
| Brisket | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 177.7028 | 166.2400 | 171.97 | top 45% |
“Calls” = top-10 category finishes (getting called to the stage). Scores here are the final weighted totals KCBS publishes; per-criterion appearance/taste/tenderness marks aren’t in the public results feed.
By field size and state
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 1 | 0 | top 20% |
| Medium (20–39) | 1 | 0 | top 28% |
| Large (40+) | 8 | 0 | top 27% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sip & Swine BBQ Festival | 2 | 3 | 0 | top 22% | Mar 6, 2026 |
| Atlanta BBQ Store Classic | 2 | 3 | 0 | top 7% | Nov 14, 2025 |
| Poosa Q | 2 | 6 | 0 | top 33% | Jun 20, 2025 |
More numbers
Busiest season
2025
5 contests
Contests a season
2.8
across 4 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
GA
5 of 11 contests · 3 states in all
Contests visited
7
3 of them more than once
Most-entered meat
Chicken
11 entries · 1 win · 7 calls
Opponents faced
370
finished ahead 520 times, behind 203
Longest layoff
1.1 yrs
Oct 5, 2023 → Nov 15, 2024
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20263 milestones
- 10th tracked contest 20th Annual Boss Hog State Championship Cook-Off
- Peak power rating (1590) South Carolina Festival of Discovery
- Most recent contest South Carolina Festival of Discovery
20253 milestones
- First overall podium Sip & Swine BBQ Festival
- First perfect 180 (Pork Ribs) Poosa Q
- Career-best overall score702.7884 Atlanta BBQ Store Classic
20243 milestones
- First call Atlanta BBQ Store Classic
- First category win (Pork Ribs) Atlanta BBQ Store Classic
- First overall top-10 Atlanta BBQ Store Classic
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +16.4 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic | Nov 15, 2024 |
| +16.2 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival | Mar 7, 2025 |
| +16 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic | Nov 14, 2025 |
| +14.9 | Poosa Q | Jun 20, 2025 |
| +12.9 | Central AL BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) | Sep 26, 2025 |
Scores over time (% of a perfect score — tap a meat to add it)
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
How entries end (by meat)
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100% | top 40% | 96.8% | 95.5% |
| 2025 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 100% | top 12% | 98.1% | 97.3% |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100% | top 9% | 96.5% | 96.5% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 52% | 91.4% | 91.4% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 9, 2026 | South Carolina Festival of Discovery 🏅 Greenwood, SC | 35 / 75 (682.7428) | 4 (178.8572) | 58 (165.6800) | 28 (171.9656) | 49 (166.2400) |
| May 8, 2026 | 20th Annual Boss Hog State Championship Cook-Off 🏅 Waynesboro, GA | 20 / 42 (682.1368) | 12 (174.2628) | 37 (160.5028) | 17 (171.9656) | 10 (175.4056) |
| Apr 3, 2026 | Smoke on the Falls 🏅 Gadsden, AL | 10 / 36 (697.0628) | 7 (177.7028) | 16 (173.1200) | 28 (168.5372) | 7 (177.7028) |
| Mar 6, 2026 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival 🏅 Lawrenceville, GA | 16 / 44 (688.5028) | 8 (176.5600) | 1 (179.4400) | 34 (163.9772) | 29 (168.5256) |
| Nov 14, 2025 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic 🏅 Cumming, GA | 3 / 56 (702.7884) | 10 (177.7028) | 1 (180) | 19 (173.1200) | 27 (171.9656) |
| Sep 26, 2025 | Central AL BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Clanton, AL | 3 / 15 (349.6800) | 1 (178.8572) | 9 (170.8228) | — | — |
| Sep 26, 2025 | The Great Alabama BBQ Cook-off Qualifier "Friday Night Chicken Fight" (ONE MEAT CHICKEN) Clanton, AL | — | 3 (177.7028) | — | — | — |
| Jun 20, 2025 | Poosa Q 🏅 Montgomery, AL | 6 / 42 (347.3828) | 26 (167.3828) | 1 (180) | — | — |
| Mar 7, 2025 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival 🏅 Lawrenceville, GA | 3 / 45 (353.1200) | 3 (177.7028) | 5 (175.4172) | 4 (171.4056) | — |
| Nov 15, 2024 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic 🏅 Cuming, GA | 5 / 58 (347.3944) | 15 (169.6800) | 1 (177.7144) | — | — |
| Oct 5, 2023 | Poosa Q 🏅 Montgomery, AL | 38 / 73 (329.0628) | 45 (165.0856) | 36 (163.9772) | — | — |